30 Minutes of Deleted Footage From ‘Return of the Jedi’ Help Redeem Obi-Wan Kenobi

Star Wars fan Charlie Owen has posted a 30-minute clip of footage that was deleted from ‘Return of the Jedi’ the third movie in the original trilogy and the sixth in the overall saga. The footage was culled from the long out-of-print Edit Droid Laser Disc release of the film. (For those too young to remember, Laser Discs were an early stab at high-quality, digital home video on shiny 12″ round discs. The platform never really took off though and once DVDs hit the market, Laser Discs were doomed.)

It’s no secret that here have been some inconsistencies as far as storytelling in these films and this scene in particular helps redeem Obi-Wan Kenobi. As everyone recalls, in the second/fifth film, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ Darth Vader reveals to Luke that “I am your father”, Anakin Skywalker. Luke then questions why this information was kept from him.

In this footage, Yoda is on his death bed and tells Luke “Obi-Wan would have told you [about the true fate of Anakin Skywalker] long ago, had I let him.” So the blame lies on Yoda’s shoulders not Obi-Wan’s. It also hints at some conflict between the two master Jedi.

Because this footage didn’t make the final film, it’s not edited or polished, but even so, it may be worthwhile to check out if you are a die-hard fan. You can view it yourself below:

It’s a subtle line, but it does add quite a bit to help smooth over the revelation. And it hints at some deeper conflict behind the scenes.

We still know very little about the upcoming movies. (The next movie is still being written and cast.) But will there be some conflict or deception among the protagonists?

At this point, who knows? At any rate, to hard core Star Wars fans, I’m sure this footage fills in a valuable gap.

Jax Motes

Jax's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes.